My Healing Games

Chapter 31 The Black Box

"As science and technology continue to develop, humans are endowing machines with more and more abilities and emotions in a godlike manner, but have you noticed that human emotions are being constantly lost?"

Wearing virtual reality glasses, Huang Ying strolled with Han Fei through the old town's ancient alleys, surrounded by children playing and laughing with the purest smiles on their faces.

“Take some things I’ve seen and experienced as examples. Most people living in this smart city appear glamorous on the surface and always have a smile on their face, but in reality, they are busy with various business occasions all day long and are under a lot of pressure. The so-called social gatherings are just for show. Everyone looks warm and hospitable, but their hearts are actually cold and indifferent.”

"Our genes are being constantly deciphered, our information is being collected and summarized, and every one of our outrageous behaviors is recorded in the citizen system. Gradually, our lives, emotions, and existence are becoming more and more formatted. We are not living our own lives, but rather repeating the same day until we die."

After a deeper conversation, Han Fei discovered that Huang Ying was a very capable person; at least, the things Huang Ying said made him seem very impressive.

"Humans evolved from animals, but their hearts have gradually become like machines, which is a terrible thing. And that's why I really love Perfect Life, this groundbreaking game."

Stepping on the bluestone slabs, looking at the moss by the roadside, and smelling the faint fragrance after the rain, Huang Ying opened his arms wide: "This game is helping us find our lost emotions and heal the wounds of our souls. Here we can relive the beautiful memories we have forgotten, and here we can clearly feel our own existence."

"Really?" Han Fei thought of how he looked when he played the game, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.

"Yes," Huang Ying said with certainty.

"This demo version feels amazing to play. I wonder how amazing the full version will be." Han Fei took off his virtual reality glasses, and the drizzle in the ancient alley disappeared. He was standing in a private room with Huang Ying.

"The official version will absolutely exceed your expectations. This is a game that makes dreams come true. This game really is just like its name, it will give you a perfect life!" Huang Ying said with great feeling.

"Judging from your tone, it sounds like you've played the full version before?" Han Fei looked somewhat surprised.

"You figured it out. I'm actually a special tester for the sixth closed beta of 'Perfect Life'."

Han Fei recalled the information he had found online. The beta testers of the game Perfect Life were roughly divided into four categories: the first were the game's internal staff, who would enter the game first for an in-depth experience during each test.

Secondly, there are the supervisors from relevant government departments. As a groundbreaking, deeply immersive game, "Perfect Life" integrates cutting-edge science and technology with countless wild ideas, which the government also attaches great importance to.

Thirdly, there are specially invited testers like Huang Ying, who are often professionals in a particular industry or field. They play the game from their professional perspective, offering their suggestions for improvement to make the game more realistic and fun.

The fourth category is the general player base, who obtain beta testing qualifications through various channels.

Some of these people are hardcore gamers who simply want to experience the game, while others are studios that make money from the game and want to obtain first-hand information to prepare for the public beta.

"To become a special tester, you must be a big shot in real life!" Han Fei is now certain that the Huang Ying in front of him is the same Huang Ying he met last night, and his previous guess was correct.

"I wouldn't dare call myself a big shot, I'm just quite well-known in the industry." Huang Ying was very modest and had no airs at all. He patiently led Han Fei on a tour of the game exhibition area, constantly praising the game Perfect Life, and seemed more dedicated than a game company's salesperson.

"You said a perfect life can make everyone's dreams come true, so if I'm a huge fan of horror movies, can I experience horror movies in a game and feel like I'm actually there?" After deciding on the character, Han Fei began to probe.

“Of course you can. There’s a special nighttime amusement park in the game, which is designed for horror lovers. It has all sorts of thrilling rides and movie reenactments. You can even choose to work at the nighttime amusement park and try to trigger the life of becoming the park’s owner.” Huang Ying began to offer advice very seriously: “But you have to be careful. There’s a mental threshold setting in the game. Once it exceeds ten, the system will judge you as being under strong stimulation and then force you to disconnect.”

"If it exceeds ten, it will force a disconnection?" Han Fei's eyelids twitched. His mental threshold in the game was set to 100, the same as his health points!

“If you force disconnect too many times, your game character may die. Life is very fragile in the game Perfect Life, and you only have one life. After you die, all data is reset and you have to start all over again.” Huang Ying said with deep feeling, “Death is very painful, so you must cherish life.”

"I've personally watched a lot of horror movies, but I don't really feel anything from the plots. It's the bizarre events related to ghosts in real life that really terrify me." Han Fei gradually approached the question he wanted to ask: "Do you think there might be supernatural tales in the story of a perfect life?"

"There should have been restrictions before the second test. I heard that there weren't many restrictions back then. There were no penalties for players attacking NPCs. One tester even massacred an entire neighborhood. He was eventually locked up because he went insane."

"Is it that crazy?"

"What do you think? When humanity loses its restraint, people become the most terrifying beasts." Huang Ying seemed to still remember some rumors from back then: "Because of that tester's incident, Perfect Life added a lot of restrictions and cut nearly a third of the plot. By the sixth closed beta, basically all the plots that could easily cause moral and ethical problems had been removed, and even the Easter eggs mentioned in the late founder's will were deleted."

"An Easter egg left in the founder's will?"

"Don't you know? This is quite famous in the gaming industry." Huang Ying lowered his voice: "The chairman of Yong Sheng Pharmaceuticals passed away due to illness after the first closed beta test of 'Perfect Life.' In his will, he instructed his children to find a black box. He said that the box was filled with regrets, resentments, hatred, misfortunes, and malice in the world. He also gave three hints, saying that the box was in the deepest part of the world, the deepest part of the mind, and the deepest part of the human heart."

"Did anyone find the box later?" Han Fei subtly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"No, everyone had their own interpretations, and they eventually suspected that the box was actually an Easter egg in the game, containing the old man's obsession. The testers at the time searched for the Easter egg in the game like madmen, but no one found it. Until the third test, for some reason, all the original plot elements that the old man had participated in designing were deleted, and that Easter egg will never be found again." Huang Ying's tone revealed a hint of regret: "In my lifetime, I really want to know what that Easter egg is."

"Yes, I'd like to know too." Han Fei scratched the back of his head, his expression perfectly calm.

(End of this chapter)